My thoughts on Fabula Ultima Tabletop RPG || the JRPG TTRPG

Hey everyone! These are my thoughts and kind of a short review on Fabula Ultima the tabletop RPG that's all about that retro- JRPG feel.

End music: "Retro" by Wayne Jones

[kingalfred]

Fun Fact: "Fabula Ultima" is a Latin phrase that means "Last Story, " or translated more poetically, "Final Fantasy."

[stellarsketches]

Literally outwardly said “hey! I havent seen him in a while!”

Good to see ya buddy!

[hrothgardevaitos]

I've played Fabula Ultima, and something you failed to mention about Fabula Points, and it's something that's both pretty important to the system, and my favorite part of the system, is that it allows the players to wrest narative control over some aspect of the story from the GM. Like, it's not complete control, the GM obviously gets the final say, but you're still able to change some aspect of the world in some way retroactively, which is really neat in my opinion.

Example: In my FIRST GAME with the system, I was playing as a traveling scholar looking to sneak in and change this town's water crystal in a small way for my secret order. The GM opens the scene, stating that there's a storm on its way, and I immediately used my fabula point right there to retcon the story that my order was at fault for the storm. We diverted it towards the city as a distraction so I could sneak in... And the GM rolled with it, because it was really neat.

[TrueHavoc]

I literally thought today." Geez I miss puffin." This is the second time this has happened when I've thought that this month.

[mirthfulArtist]

The idea of inventory points is to reduce bloat. Basically: Basic adventuring items (like torches and personal items) are free, we don't need to write them down. Stuff that actually effects your numbers, like potions, cost points. Its very streamlined. 👍

[jaycethebigguy]

When the world needed him most...






*HE RETURNS*

[CW-hwnu]

So awesome seeing you cover this game. Been playing it with my friends and we love it.
I'm a teddy bear in a mechsuit named "Rumpkin Pu de bar"

[vagrant]

I do find it amazing how so many RPG games trace lineage through Dnd, Wizardry, and Ultima.

[BionicScorp]

Thanks for showing this tabletop to more people, it looks very interesting and I hope my group will be willing to try it out.

[Thandulfan]

Fabula is awesome system for more narrative/roleplay heavy groups. And the tools that let you build your whole new world as a group are super useful.

[torinsmith]

"Somehow, Puffintine returned."

[MetaMetalks]

I absolutely love this game. It’s simple and easy to pick up but got enough depth to keep things varied.

[rrahl]

Small Corrections / Big Addendums I'd love to mention, because FabU is my favorite system and this feels like an (unintentional) misrepresentation;

Your stats do increase! At level 20 and level 40, you can choose to increase one stat by one die size up to a max of d12.

Fabula Points (as rerolls) are not strictly limited just to "this is essential to my character's backstory;" they are tied to your Theme (Duty, Vengeance, Mercy, etc, ) your Identity (Wayward Knight of the Marching Mountains, Exiled Princess of an Ancient Kingdom, Lightning Mage Prodigy, ) and your Origin (literally where you're from.) You are allowed to reroll one or both dice in a roll by spending a Fabula Point and telling your GM how it relates to one of these three things. It should be noted that this is a system steeped in abstraction; it encourages these moments and it doesn't have to be as game-pace-breaking as the example provided in the video.

It could be "my character's identity as the Dark Knight means I'm well versed in swordplay, " or "My theme of Belonging means I don't want to let my allies down!"

Direct quote from the game's creator - "... if the actions the character takes usually fit with their rerolls, it means they wrote their traits well and are playing into them! It's a good thing. You can easily spot when the action is going sideways by people being unable to invoke traits."

But perhaps the most important thing to clarify here is the real strength of Fabula Points is they allow players to change the narrative in drastic ways! The player spends a Fabula Point and says something like "My estranged brother is present at this auction" or "We discover a travelling merchant;" "The emperor is secretly my father!"

Suddenly, those things are true! (You need consent from other PCs if it affects them and the GM always has final say, but you're encouraged to lean into what is presented as a GM.)

They are meant to replicate the big dramatic plot twists of JRPGs, and are crucial to the experience of the game!

Other things not mentioned that are worth consideration for anyone interested in FabU:

- Fabula Points are awarded in droves. You are encouraged to spend them, and your XP progression is directly tied to this. Meaning more dramatic stories lend themselves to faster progression!

- Villains! What a huge touchstone to not be represented in this video. Just as heroes have Fabula Points, Villains represent crucial, plot relevant (and often character-relevant) antagonists who have Ultima Points. While they can't necessarily use them to change the narrative quite as drastically, so long as they have one Ultima Point available they can always use it for the classic dramatic getaway! That's right, prospective GMs tired of your bosses being oneshot, you can mechanically say "nuh uh" as they hop off the edge of the airship and onto the back of a dragon! Again, think big, dramatic JRPG plot twists. But what if they're out of Ultima Points? Well, then they either resign and revoke their evil ways... or they escalate, doubling down and becoming more powerful than ever before!

- Customization. This game has so many optional rules designed to modify or enhance the core mechanics of the game and allows you to fully customize the game to your party's preferences. You can tailor it to pretty accurately represent the mechanics of almost any modern or classic JRPG! This is not hyperbole.

- Depth of Character. This game's not actually that light... there are 28 classes, each with 5 different skils to master. The synergies are equal parts obvious and sly, and players have loads of wonderful options to choose from! Not to mention some of those skills also offer choices within choices! (See: Chanter, Dancer, Symbolist, any Spellcaster...) Not to mention, when you gain 10 levels in a class, you get access to a powerful Heroic Skill! (Plus, each new class awards a static bonus of +5 HP/MP or +2 IP, so you do have growth beyond just what Puffin mentioned!)

- Consequence. This is a game of choice and consequence, and the simplest example is what happens when a PC is reduced to 0 HP. They make a choice; is this a Surrender, or a Sacrifice? If they Surrender... did they lose something important? Did they get captured? Was the village they were trying to protect burned down? Surrender does not mean your character retires; in fact, they may find even more meaning in moving forward with the weight of their failures. Sacrifice on the other hand represents an unwavering resolve, a final act of heroic glory. Sacrifice means PC retirement, permanently. There is no coming back from it... and as such, there is seemingly no limit on what a Sacrifice can accomplish. Of course, there are requirements to be met before Sacrifice becomes a viable option, and as always, you work with your GM to go overboard but not too overboard... but I've never had a player come anywhere close to too far across my 3 games.

- Collaboration. The world is built from the ground up with players. What is its shape, its size? What are the Kingdoms, what do they represent, and how are they interlinked? Faith? Governments? Geography? What about the Villains of this world? The Threats known and invisible, the Mysteries that lie under the surface? It doesn't stop there, however. Visiting the region your player built? Ask them to describe the market square! Does a player have a close connection to wildlife due to their class or backstory? Let them be the expert as they guide the party through the woods, surveying the wildlife in details of their own creation. Defeat an enemy? You tell me what happens to them. Not to mention Fabula Points, the aforementioned customization of optional rules, item design... you get the point. Collaboration is the HEART of the game and I'm sad it wasn't mentioned more significantly here.

- "Simple combat." One action a turn isn't a fair representation of the depth of combat that's available in this game. Ever played Magic: the Gathering? The depth of Fabula's action economy comes in an abundance of triggered options, with triggers ranging from your enemy missing a strike to you taking a specific action, to caring about a status condition being applied, and so on. One action can actually mean five different things, and that's just on your turn! There's also initiative manipulation, playing around enemy attack patterns, interacting with clocks in combat, learning the new rules of any given boss fight on the fly. The GM is encouraged to challenge "play patterns" (doing the same thing every round over and over) and design conflicts with the party in mind.

FabU has, obviously, won my love. With the wrong group, the game falls flat, but with the right people, it glimmers brighter than any other tabletop I've ever played.
If you like collaborative, character-driven, dramatic narratives with handtailored conflicts, thematically resonant locations and villains, seemingly infinite customization and immense, immediate consequences for your choices... look no further than FabU.

[indexpaige]

As someone who has actively switched from 5e and pathfinder to this, purely because i love world building and LORE building? This game is 120% recommended

[Uuuhhh]

These videos where he just discusses an rpg or group of rpgs are always so nice

[drhapi]

I’m glad you discovered a rules light game for once. Opens the world up

[Solbadgreg]

I'm so glad more people are trying out Fabula Ultima! It's such a fun rules light system that feels similar to Japanese TTRPGs like Ryuutama and Sword World.

[cobbil]

Damn... mentioning two of my favorite TTRPG systems with Fabula and Anima. Glad you gave Fabula a try!

[Psuperstructure]

I was giving your videos some annual rewatches and decided to check if anything new was posted, and I saw this vid, posted half an hour ago. Good to see you back!

[Flamewarden_Honoushugoshin]

I like the idea of mixed dice rolls for checks! It makes sense that multiple stats might be necessary for an action and does a lot to expand the variety of checks without making character sheets become a huge list of numbers. I could even see something like this being picked up by a clever homebrew playgroup for more mainstream TTRPGs.